I was planning a road trip to the Carolinas, looking for interesting diversions along the way, when I came across an excursion train that runs out of Cordele in southwest Georgia. The train, which usually runs on weekends, is operated by the state Department of Natural Resources -- "a rolling state park," they call it. I bought a ticket. The day trip took us through rural farmland and pecan groves to Plains, where Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter live, and a tiny town called Archery, home of the family farm where the former president grew up. Read my story here.

Legoland Florida unveiled seven scenes from Star Wars in Miniland on Friday, completing an installation that took more than a year to design and build, and consists of more than 1.5 million Lego bricks. Miniland is a series of scenes built in miniature of Lego bricks and some parts that come to life with the push of a buttom. The Star Wars scenes join New York, Las Vegas, Florida and other miniature sets. The installation has scenes from each of the six Star Wars movies plus one from the animated series "The Clone Wars." It was introduced by a legion of Darth Vaders.